


afraid of the dark

by orphan_account



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:01:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26316118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: they don’t know what, but something is so very wrong.
Relationships: Kairi & Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	afraid of the dark

**Author's Note:**

> i feel so fucked up and evil right nowwwwwwwwwwww  
> its almost 7am so there a probably mistakes somewhere  
> i promise the next thing i write will be nice :] hopefully

It starts with a crash.

The loud smashing of pottery startles Riku awake and their keyblade flashes into hand on instinct. In their haste, they throw the covers right off their bed. The mess is something they can worry about later.

Right now...the dreameater mark that glows faintly on their back is what they need to worry about.

Kairi is there to meet them when they open the door, hopping about from foot to foot. She’s a mix of scared, anxious and confused. It’s clear that the noise woke her up too, her hair is disheveled and the bags under her eyes are heavier than they should be.

“Did you see him?” Riku asks.

Kairi nods her head, shakily, wringing her hands. She looks sick.

“Yeah but...Riku it’s different this time. Something’s different.”

Riku tilts their head. “Different how?”

As if answering their question, a low growl comes from the shadows at the end of the hallway, drawing their attention. Unblinking bright _blue_ eyes glare at them in the darkness, revealing a familiar face.

And Riku can’t help but stare back.

Sora hisses, conscious of their gaze, but then suddenly goes silent before letting out a quiet keening whine. His eyes squint and a single luminescent tear trails down his shadowed face.

The sudden change in behaviour strikes Riku as odd, but they don’t have time to think of it as something clenches painfully in their Heart and they wince, doubling over slightly and bringing their hand to their chest.

“Riku?” Kairi barely manages to whisper, panic creeping into her voice. Her hand hovers just above their shoulder, unsure. “What’s going on?”

“Nightmare.” Riku hisses quietly through gritted teeth.

Kairi looks from them, to Sora who still watches ominously from the shadows and back again. She takes a breath, brows furrowing.

“What do we do? This is a new thing, isn’t it?”

If there’s one thing Riku loves about Kairi, it’s that she always gets straight to the point. It’s useful at times like these.

“Well,” Riku stands up straight again, ignoring the lingering ache in their chest and readying their keyblade. “we could try the usual tactic.”

A vicious snarl comes from Sora, who obviously senses their intent.

Kairi nods. “If he wants a fight he’ll get one.”

On cue, Sora pounces towards them, claws outstretched and fangs on show. Like a rehearsed dance, Kairi swiftly rebuffs his attack, throwing out her hand with a cry of “Light!”. White radiance blossoms from her palm and Sora immediately cowers away from it, claws scraping against the floorboards as he scrambles back. He snaps at her once he recovers, darkness frothing around him angrily.

He’s easier to see now, illuminated in the narrow shaft of pale moonlight. Though darkness still churns around him in the air, it also oozes off his body. Black tar continuously drips from his shadowed form, splattering and staining the wood like ink. A part of Riku expects Heartless to spawn right there and then, but thankfully they don’t.

“Ok, that’s _definitely_ new.” Kairi mutters fretfully, glancing over to Riku. “Can you speak to him?”

Riku huffs, finally dismissing their keyblade. “I can try.”

They inch towards Sora slowly, carefully, with their hand outstretched entreatingly. Sora hisses hatefully at them, edging away into the shadows again.

“Sora, it’s just me. It’s Riku.” They start, keeping their voice soft. “Can you understand me?”

Sora only replies with a bitter hiss once again, his mental voice nowhere to be heard. He glares at Riku’s hand distrustfully before suddenly lunging forward, snapping his jaws as a threat. Riku flinches back, breath hitching as they do and Heart twisting in their chest. Sora continues to growl harshly, slipping further and further into the shadows until only his vivid blue eyes can be seen.

And then he disappears completely.

“Sora!” Kairi exclaims, though a little too late.

“He’s got to be here somewhere. We have to look...just...be careful.” Riku keeps their voice as calm as possible, the ache in their Heart subsiding once again.

Kairi nods solemnly, frowning deeply as she does. “I’ll check upstairs, ok?”

“Mmm.” Riku hums in agreement and watches her as she goes.

Rage form is unpredictable enough normally, but this is something entirely new and dare Riku admit it...much more frightening.

Keyblade in hand, Riku cautiously treads into the living room. Moonlight bathes most of the torn furniture in an almost eerie blue light, smothering most of the shadows. The pottery they heard smash earlier lies in pieces on the floor and numerous claw marks litter the walls, as well as

Riku gasps quietly.

Lying on the floor, glass cracked and wood splintered, is a photo of the three of them. One that Sora took, something precious to him. Carefully, Riku picks the broken frame up, tilting it so the light hits their faces just right. They frown, brows furrowed and eyes dark with worry.

Something is wrong.

A loud _thump_ comes from upstairs, quickly followed by Kairi’s strained shout of “Riku!”. They place the frame back in its rightful place before rushing up the stairs. Another _thump_ , this time followed by a loud screech that could only come from Sora. From his bedroom. Riku dashes to the doorway and finds Kairi currently engaged in a scuffle with him. She’s firmly pinned him to the ground, hands pressed against his wrists as he wildly thrashes about, screaming.

“Sora!” She calls over his howling. “Please it’s us! It’s me, Kairi! You know us!”

Sora either refuses to listen or doesn’t understand, for he continues to squirm in her grip, even trying to bite her in an attempt to free himself.

She turns to Riku, tears shining in her eyes, though she can’t hold their gaze as Sora struggles beneath her. “Riku, I don’t know what to do!”

“I-” Riku hesitates, just as lost as she is, desperately racking their brain. 

An idea takes form after a moment, and they pray to the gods that it’s a good one.

They kneel next to Kairi. “Let him up.”

“What!?” Kairi cries incredulously. “Are you serious?”

Riku nods firmly. “Yes. Just trust me, I have an idea.” They pause. “I think it’ll work. It did before.”

Kairi stares at them in disbelief for a moment before deciding to trust them. A determined look overcomes her features.

“Ok.”

Sora senses a change and stops, watching them with wide, bright eyes. Kairi gently eases her grip and he immediately reacts, swiping at her. But he doesn’t get the chance to land a hit, for Riku grabs his wrist instead before he can, catching him off guard. He’s yanked up into a tight hug before he can even process what’s happening, held tightly by both of them. 

He’s oddly still in their embrace.

“Please Sora…” Kairi whispers quietly, doing her best to ignore the darkness brushing against her cheek and dripping down her hands. She lets her Heart resonate with his. “Come back to us.”

“You can do it, we know you can.” Riku encourages, holding him just a little bit tighter. “And if you can’t, that’s fine too. We’ll be here to help Sora. Always.”

“Always.” Kairi agrees, pressing her face into his shoulder.

Riku might be imagining it, but after a while they swear they can feel Sora start to tremble. Then there’s a rapsy, muffled voice and a watery sniffle.

“Wh...Kairi? Riku?”

“Sora!” They exclaim in unison, squeezing him tight.

Sora hiccups before speaking again hoarsely. “What...happened..?”

They pull away from him and for the first time really take in the sight of his face. His cheeks are stained with dried tears, even more continuing to spill down. And although his puffy red eyes have returned to their usual deep brown, a hint of neon blue still lingers, faintly glowing in the low light.

That’s new and certainly not right.

“Well…” Kairi trails off, going silent.

This all seems awfully familiar. 

“You don’t remember anything? Anything at all?” She asks.

“I-I remember there was you.” He starts, glancing between her and Riku. “And Riku. And-And it was _dark_ . But I could still see you. B-But then…there were so many Heartless-shadows and soldiers-and-they were going for _you_.”

Riku and Kairi exchange horrified looks. Riku places a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Sora you don’t have to tell us if you-”

“No!” Sora shouts, making them both jump. “No I-there were so many and I couldn't-” He lets out a small sob. “I couldn’t stop them. You were both trapped. I tried and I wasn’t _strong_ enough and I was so _scared_ because you were-”

He covers his mouth with shaking hands, eyes going wide and breath hitching.

“You were d-”

“Sora, stop!”

He watches Kairi with wide, wide eyes, electric blue still churning in them.

“You can stop, you don’t need to keep going.” Riku adds.

Sora doesn’t grace them with a response, instead breaking down into loud sobs, chest heaving as he struggles to take a proper breath. Kairi and Riku embrace him again, murmuring comforting words in his ears and running gentle hands over his back and through his hair.

They don’t need to tell him what happened. He already knows.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He repeats between sobs, like a dying man.

They know they say, as tears pour down their own cheeks, and they’re sorry too.

They stay like that, until sleep takes them all.

They don’t know what, but something is so very wrong.  
  
  
  
  



End file.
